Monday, January 11, 2010

----I would like to first thank everyone for voting!! I believe we had a bigger turnout this year than ever. I actually made it harder on myself by having an e-mail poll, but as close as some of the awards were, I do think this is the most legit way to do the voting. Below are the winners - complete results will be posted in Yearbook 2009. We are hard at work on that with details coming about the tour and ordering it online!!

-Brian Thompson takes home three awards in categories he was never nominated in. His win in Manager category made him only the third person to hold that award - Rashard Devon and Hollywood Jimmy have made it a two man race for the last three years.

Thursday, December 31, 2009

----There will be no polls posted - voting sent to the e-mail address as indicated. I will accept only 3 e-mails from each IP address!!Copy and paste!! E-mail to rroawardsrace@rasslinriotonline.com. Please put a 3,2 or 1 along with each name. 1 being your top vote - the winner will be the nominee with the least votes - get it?? If you only vote for one nominee, then that nominee will receive 3 points. For example, I want to vote Dustin as top wrestler - I would put a 1 beside his name along with a 2 beside DK and then a 3 on Mack's name. You have until 1.10.10 at midnight to send in votes!!!

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

----Ok, this is Stage 3 and the final stage of the 4th Annual RRO Awards Race. Below are all rest of the categories and I am going to explain them and give me thoughts on picks. Unfortunately I have been so busy working with Yearbook 2009 [it is close to 400 pages!!!] that I forget to get a Columnist Consensus as of yet. I will post that later this week. Now to Stage 3!! If you are a member of the KAYFABE MESSSAGE BOARD, then you may click over and put all your nominations there. Or you may e-mail your picks, if you do not want to post them “in the open” on the board. Send your nominations in ASAP. PLEASE PICK 3 NOMINEES for each category!!! Send your e-mail to brian_tramel@yahoo.com with subject: RRO Nominees. Deadline for these awards is Wednesday 12.30.09. Get all the up to the date info on the awards right here!!! Below my picks and thoughts are the Columnists Consensus results from a poll I conducted via e-mail last week with them.

*Horizon Award: This is the award for the guy/girl/team that you think should have a TNA/WWE contract. This award was won by Eric Wayne last year with Byron Willcott [who has a contract] in close second and Dustin Starr placing in an award that he won in 2006 and 2007. I am going to leave Starr out of it this year as one of my picks, because I think it is just a given that he deserves a contract. The three guys I pick are Christian Jacobs, Matt Riveria and Tatt2. Tatt2 in third place because he has had a lot of opportunities this year that fell thru, but he has shined for the big time. Jacobs is a close second and I would have to give Riveria the nod here, because of all the out of wrestling things you see him do to just get his wrestling personality over. He is tailor-made for the WWE.

*Most Improved – Who got better in 2009? Angel-Lena, Jeremy Moore, Justin Smart and Crazy Train really have to be mentioned here. The guys work really hard and have improved. Angel-lena has gone from being GOD awful to have decent matches as a worker and is more confident around the ring. Christian Jacobs is my third pick here, because he has always HAD IT, but this year IT went just a bit better. Bishop has got tons better and has a great presence in the ring. My top pick would have to be Seth Knight just for his overall look and adding new stuff to his already stacked move set.

*Most Underrated – Brian So Fine, Shawn Reed, Ron Rage, Seth Knight, Devon Day and Mark Justice are six names I would start with. If any of those guys got nominated, I would see why. These guys have to be mentioned – they all are good at different levels. My top three picks are Kevin White [as he works lots of big shows and works hard in & out the ring], Maxx Corbin [he has a great wrestling mind, good on the mic and did a great job promoting a few shows] and my top pick would be Cody Melton. Melton has been on a lot of top shows this year and works real hard.

*Arena Report Match of the Year – These are the best matches that I witnessed at live events. This is hard to vote for some people because they do not see as much stuff as I do. But..if you attended one of these matches, then you know the quality of it. I have listed all the matches that scored [***1/2] or higher. Please pick three. I have highlighted my three picks.

*TV Match of the Year: These are original matches that aired on TV this year. There has not been a lot, but I posted what I considered the top 6 bouts from TV. I have highlighted by three picks. If you think I missed one, then feel free to nominate it. The date shown is the air dates.

*Best Wrestling Web Site –Dustin Starr’s “the Starr Treatment”, WNC, http://www.elitewrestlingentertainment.com/ are my top picks. Starr has slowed down a bit at the end of the year, but he was THE site to go to all year long. Wrestling News Center is last year’s winner and good for world news more than local. My favorite promotion site is the EWE one.

*Columnist of the Year – Even though it is his own blog, Dustin Starr has been the guy to read this year. Greg Anthony always has good columns on here. Seth Knight, Jamie Jay [for being shady] and Eric Wayne all need a mention tied in third.

*Female Performer: Angel-Lena is my favorite here because she has been more places and works hard. Athena Eclipse is an ASWF mainstay and is not your typical diva. She breaks the mold and is really good at ringside. Jazz is easily the most over female I have ever seen live. Last year’s winner Su-Yung should get mentioned also, but she was not as much “in your face” as she has been due to no TV exposure.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

----RRO AWARDS RACE 2009 continues. The first 6 categories have been closed for nominations. I have listed the next 6 categories in this year’s race, which many consider the most important ones. If you are a member of the KAYFABE MESSSAGE BOARD, then you may click over and put all your nominations there. Or you may e-mail your picks, if you do not want to post them “in the open” on the board. Send your nominations in ASAP. PLEASE PICK 3 NOMINEES for each category!!! Send your e-mail to brian_tramel@yahoo.com with subject: RRO Nominees. Deadline for these 6 awards is Wednesday 12.23.09. You may also check back here to get all the up to the date info on the awards!!! Below my picks and thoughts are the Columnists Consensus results from a poll I conducted via e-mail last week with them.

----Wrestler –This award has to do with drawing power, influence, visibility and just overall a good wrestler. You don’t have to be the best worker in the area, but it does help. Wrestler of the Year is considered one of most prestigious of our awards, because along with Tag Team of the Year, you get your photo on the front cover of the Yearbook. Who will be there on the cover of Yearbook 2009?? Three-time Wrestler of the Year Derrick King will be considered, but it might be a hard year for him to win. But, with winning 3 in a row, it is almost a given he will be nominated. My top two picks change almost every week now – Dustin Starr and Rodney Mack. Mack took a promotion from drawing in the 120s to almost double as the top babyface. I think it is a harder job to draw week after week. Mack is easily the #1 babyface draw in this area. Starr has not only pushed himself to be the best at what he does, but he has also helped put this area on the map. His blog, his work with various non-wrestling projects and his overall exposure will make it hard not to nominate him. Other guys deserving the nod might be Brian Christopher [he has had a ton of exposure – not good..], Jerry Lawler [who topped all the biggest shows in the first half of the year] and Kevin White [who also was on a lot of the top shows].

----Tag Team of the Year fits right in there with drawing power, influence, exposure and all that combined into one. My top pick is “Asylum” [Psycho/Pappy]. There is no other team that gets more exposure and dates than this team. They will easily do 120+ total dates this year. No other team will do that. “Midnight Gold” [Bobby Eaton/Greg Anthony] and “Picture Perfect” [Christian Jacobs/Chris O’Neal/Jon Michael] are my other two picks. “Gold” made an impact in this area and it has just been fun for a Midnight Express mark like me to watch them. “Perfect” was “the” team most of the year even with O’Neal’s injury, Jon Michael then stepped in. Others that should be considered - “LSD” [Cody Only/Idol Bane], “Genocide” [Maxx Corbin/Albino Rhino], “Natural Born Playas” [Southside Brawler/Pimptacular] and “East Coast Bad Boys” [Serpent/C-Money] .

----MVP Performer of 2009, which is the best overall worker. This award is not based on drawing power, just wrestling. Some of the names from last year have to be considered as Austin Lane, Stan Lee and Greg Anthony are always good workers. My first pick this year will have to be Austin Lane. I have just seen him in more great matches than anyone this year. #2 pick is Pokerface. I have seen him in two over [***] matches in a single and in a tag. He is always been considered one of the top in the area, but mostly as a tag team wrestler – winning MVP Tag Team 2007. He worked his ass off during the Sid/Hall angles and made everyone look good. #3 pick is Jon Michael. He was also the winner of a tag team award in 2006, but he is shining as a single wrestler and had excellent performances at two of the NBW big shows. Stan Lee, Greg Anthony, Christian Jacobs or Eric Wayne - it would not hurt my feelings to see either of them nominated.

----MVP Tag Team of Year 2009. This is a hard category also. What teams are flawless and work the hardest?? The three teams that come to mind the most for me are “East Coast Bad Boys”, Derrick King/Pokerface and “Picture Perfect”. If King/Poker teamed other places, I would have to pick them easily. ECBB are limited also, but I think my #1 pick would be a toss up between them and PP.

----Rookie of The Year –This award goes to someone that worked at least 26 dates in their first year of wrestling. The guys that are eligible are JD Kerry, Michael Gilbert, Chris Lexxus, The Regulator, Ty Hamiliton and there are others out there. I would have to pick JD Kerry hands down in this category. Guys like Kevin Charles and Dan Matthews fall “in between” and will get a nod next year.

----NEW AWARD: Spot Moondog Brawler of the Year Award. This will be our first year to present this award and it is our only new award added. This award has been given a stamp of approval by the family of Spot Moondog and we are excited about presenting it. This award goes to a guy that is hardcore or just a damn good brawler. My number one pick here would be Psycho. Psycho can take more punishment than anyone I have seen in this area. His matches for S&V and the IWA stuff put him ahead of others. He does these shows and continues to do regular bouts each and every week without taking off time. Tony Myers does his own stuff and is a strong candidate here. Motley Cruz is and has always been good at the brawling style. Pappy did most of the stuff Psycho did and should be consider. Southside Brawler also did a few really wild brawls this year and Ron Rage ended up bloody a lot too.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

----RRO AWARDS RACE 2009 begins NOW!!! I have listed the first 6 categories in this year’s race. If you are a member of the KAYFABE MESSSAGE BOARD, then you may click over and put all your nominations there. Or you may e-mail your picks, if you do not want to post them “in the open” on the board. Send your nominations in ASAP. PLEASE PICK 3 NOMINEES for each category!!! Send your e-mail to brian_tramel@yahoo with subject: RRO Nominees. Deadline for first 6 awards is Wednesday 12.16.09. You may also come here to the RRO AWARDS RACE blog to get all the up to the date info on the awards!!! Below my picks and thoughts are the Columnists Consensus results from a poll I conducted via e-mail last week with them.

----Promotion of the Year 2009. Both the top picks are two different animals, but need the nods. Memphis Wrestling – USA promotion behind the booking expertise of Bert Prentice had a lot of the top crowds of the year. He slacked off on promoting shows because of his health, but MW-USAW done real well the first 6 months. RWA was drawing close to 800 fans every month with a weekly show. I am not sure if MW-USA could do that or not. RWA morphed into DoggCW and continues to draw good crowds. I give the top nod to DoggCW for promotion of the year. Third place I would pick either TIWF [#2 drawing group weekly in area] and NBW.

----Booker of the Year 2009: Who gave you the best storylines?? Who drew crowds because of the storylines?? Who promoted the shows so people would come out to see them?? I would have to go with DoggCW/RWA’s Rodney Mack, MW-USA Wrestling’s Bert Prentice and TIWF Committee here. All three promotions have done something to get the crowds in the building.

----Announcer of the Year 2009: Who is the best on the mic for TV or just announcing at the shows?? Brian Thompson, who worked over half the year at NEW, leads the pack here. He is a first class announcer and just plain good. I would go with Terrance Ward as my second pick as he has that old school feel to him. My third favorite is Michael Ward, who made IWA 10 times better by just announcing. John Steele should be mentioned – I would listen to him with any of the three above, but Steele is not always good alone. Rick The Stick also is good at the shows.

----Gimmick of the Year 2009: Who has the best gimmick?? No doubt about it – if you are been to a live show with the music and casket – The “Baron” Malkavain, who won the award last year, also is the top contender this year. I like the idea of a team name and a manager as part of the gimmick. Weird how this use to be just a tag team, but it is really more of gimmick now – “Midnight Gold”. I also have always liked “The Asylum” and like the “Natural Born Playa” gimmick.

----Manager of the Year 2009: Two of my favorites here are Brian Thompson and Jimmy Tidwell. They both are almost perfect in their roles. The only reason I would not actually pick them as the winners is because of their limited roles for the year. My two top picks are “Hollywood” Jimmy Blaylock and Rashard Devon, who have fought over this award for all the past three years.

----Referee of the Year 2009: 2008 winner Downtown Bruno has to lead the pack here. If you have not seen him work at NEW, then you need to go for a visit. He is not your typical “out of sight out of mind” referee that I usually like, but when it comes to the time in the match where he is needed only for the 3-count, he is there. Second I would go with Chuck Poe, who comes off as a total professional – in and out of the ring. I only seen this third guy do one show and he also works for MLW, but Kellen James is a damn good ref.

Monday, March 2, 2009

----Get your copy of Yearbook 2008 at one of the following shows!! Join RRO on tour!!

-NEW West Memphis, AR 3.06.09 – Ken Wayne, WWE’s Downtown Bruno and all the NEW crew will be there to autograph your copy of Yearbook 2008.-ASWF – “Promotion of the Year” Tuckerman, AR 3.07.09 – David Walls, Bobby Eaton and Ken Wayne will all be there to sign your Yearbook 2008.-RWA Jonesboro, AR 3.14.09 - #1 Ranked Wrestler 2008 – Austin Lane will be there to sign books!!!-DCW Dyersburg, TN 3.21.09 – Derrick King will be receiving the Wrestler of the Year award. DK will be signing books during one of the intermissions.-EWE Ripley, TN 4.04.09 – Greg Anthony and Stan Lee will be there to sign books!!-NBW Newbern, TN 4.11.09 [not confirmed]-TIWF Trenton, TN 4.18.09 [not confirmed]

----If you would like to book a show for Book Tour 2009, then please contact me at brian_tramel@yahoo.com. I have 4.25.09 open along with the first two weeks of May – 5.02 and 5.09.09. I will only be doing 10 dates for the book this year, so please book or confirm today!!

----If you do not plan to attend one of the Tour dates, then please order your copy at www.btpress.net. I am also taking requests if some of you want copies autographed by various workers, then send me requests and I will send you a paypal request back.

Monday, February 9, 2009

----Yearbook 2008 is again uploaded to the publisher. I have been working on getting that task done for almost 3 weeks. Take in account I went 7 days without electricity, then I guess it is going ok. I have found out by an author friend Tony Loton that the publisher has been having a glitch with one of their programs, so what I have been uploading is not actual what they are seeing. I think I have that corrected and hopefully we will go full steam ahead with BOOK TOUR 2009 on 2.19 or 2.26.09 with our first stop being a “pre-tour” stop at NEW in West Memphis, AR. I will have details ASAP on ordering advance copies as soon as I have them available.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

----I would like to thank everyone that participated in the Awards Race 2008. It was an interesting ride all the way to the end. Below are the winners!! The full rundown of how everyone won and such will be presented in Yearbook 2008. I should have full details on ordering the book sometime in the next few days. I do know the book will be around 325 pages!! That is double Yearbook 2007. Speaking of Yearbook 2007, I have made arrangements with the publisher of that book to offer it at almost half price. CLICK HERE to order it for only $10.99 or download it for only $6.99!! I have no plans to ever offer Yearbook 2007 at arenas again, so this will be your only way to buy it.

----CLICK HERE for the Award Badges!! Just right-click in the center of your award and save. This year seem a touch of history, since this is the first class of the Memphis Wrestling Hall of Fame. These are to be used on your web site, your myspace or Facebook sites. I encourage you to post them as it promotes the site and the awards..well..and you.

----CLICK HERE to visit and see the Class of 2008 RRO Memphis Wrestling Hall of Fame. I have posted the inductees. Full rundown of the Hall of Fame is included in Yearbook 2008. I plan to start posting some of the profiles at the end of February.

----Derrick King becomes the only three time winner in the same category – Wrestler of the Year…Lee, Blaylock and DK were the only nominees to repeat from 2007…DK takes home only two awards along with Eric Wayne, Su Yung, Lee and Brian Thompson doing the same thing…Even though ASWF did win Promotion of the Year, NEW is well represented here with regular roster members DK, Lee, Greg Anthony, Eric Wayne, Kid Nikels, Brian Thompson, “The Baron” as Dustin Ring, Downtown Bruno and Greg King Jr all winning awards…First time in RRO Award history that the Wrestler/MVP also won as MVP Tag Team.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

----You have less than 24 hours to send in your "E-mail" ballot to bt@bpsnetworks.com. The winners will be announced on "Super Sunday" 1.18.09 with a link to Award winner icons. Icons can be posted on web sites and myspace accounts.

----The winners only will be announced on Sunday and you will have to order Yearbook 2008 to find out how everyone won. I should have the Yearbook uploaded on Saturday and have full details about what will be in Yearbook 2008 along with ordering details next week!!

Thursday, January 8, 2009

----There has been some talk of cheating on the award polls. There really isn’t 100% way to determine who is voting for what. We would have to be sitting at their computer with them. But, along with talking to a few other wrestlers in this area, it seems we have more of popularity contest going on with some of the awards, instead of the actual voting – one time per computer. I mean just take a look at the numbers of votes. Aside from “Wrestler of the Year” that usually gets more votes than any other award, the number of votes are really a bit off from other awards. For example, the “Most Improved” category that I had to beg for people to nominate in, well it has almost as many votes at the “Wrestler”. I have repeated votes coming from Jackson, TN, Cordova, TN and Newport, AR. I have heard this guy is doing this and all kinds of stuff, so I have had to decide to do something different. Voting on the site was declared over for the “popular vote” at 5:06 AM this morning. We will be adding the “popular vote” along with the nominees that each candidate received from our 50+ committee. Third, the post below is the new “E-mail Ballot”. You are to copy and paste the ballot and e-mail it to the below e-mail address. Do not send it to my REGULAR e-mail – send it to that one. I will be able to monitor IP addresses and I will accept 3 Ballots from 3 different e-mail addresses from one IP. That gives you three votes per household. After you copy & paste it and put it in your e-mail software, then just go out to the right of each category and type a 3, 2 or 1. What you are doing is awarding each candidate points per your opinion of them. 3 points to the highest, 2 point to the second best and 1 point for 3rd place.

For exampleMVP PerformerStan Lee 3Greg Anthony 2Austin Lane 1

E-mail to: bt@bpsnetworks.com

----So you are saying, you want Lee to win, Anthony is second and Lane is third. Some of these categories are real close, so this vote will be very important to put the real winner over. It does not matter whether you have voted in the nominating committee or the “popular vote”, you are encouraged to vote in this special “E-mail Ballot”. If you do not put them a number beside them – 3, 2 or 1 – the candidate you vote for will only receive one vote. So why not give the person you want to win 3 points?? Finally, if you are involved in any way with an award, then that award you are voting in, you will receive 1 vote automatically; just give the 3 and 2 to respective candidates. Award winners will be announced on 1.18.09.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

----As always, it is a poll and there is probably a dozen ways to cheat on it. The first thing is that I ask you to vote ONCE per computer you have. So, that might give you a bit of an edge. But, if you are voting over and over just so you or your friends can win an award - then #1 - you are fuckin stupid and #2 - you are messing with the integrity of the awards. If any awards have an excessive amount of hits from a certain internet provider in one town, then I will eliminate that category and give the award to who I feel deserves it. I have ISP tracking on the site and am able to see right where the votes are coming from. Guys..really..if you are trying to work the awards so you will get one - you are more than stupid, you are pathetic.

----BLS lead the pack with 6 overall nominations!! Derrick King is second with 5 nominations. Dustin Starr and Stan Lee both were right behind him with 4 nominations.

----Derrick King, Dustin Starr and Bill Rush are the only nominees that could win three years in a row.

----All three candidates for “Tag Team of the Year” are new to the awards. Last year’s nominees “The Posse” [winner], “Too Kool 2” and “Asylum” all dropped out of contention. TK2 received zero nominations and they were listed as #1 in Top 10 tag teams last year.

----Two year running “Promotion of the Year” did not receive a nomination this year. This group also won two years in row – “Booker of the Year”, but is not nominated this year.

----DK is nominated in 50% of the Match of the Year candidates.

----Austin Lane is nominated in Wrestler and MVP. He also played an important role in the ASWF promotion and booking.

----Lane is 2006 MVP winner and Lee is 2007 MVP Winner – they battle it out this year with Greg Anthony.

----Flash Flanagan, who was nominated for three awards last year and ranked #2 wrestler in the area for two years in a row, was not nominated this year.

----TIWF grabbed nominations in Promotion, Manager, Booker, Tag Team and Horizon [Willcott worked there first].

----TLCW scored 2 out of 3 of the Arena Match of the Year nominations.

----Rashard Devon was 2006 Manager of the Year and Jimmy Blaylock was 2007 winner. They battled it out this year with Ravishing Randy. This is Rashard and Jimmy’s third year in the row to be nominated. They battled Anita Paige in 2006.

----Dustin Starr gets his third nomination for his web site. Starr also got his first nomination for “Columnist”. Starr is 2 time winner of “Horizon” award and is nominated again this year.

---Brian Thompson gets his second nomination with “Announcer”. Thompson lost by 2% of the vote to Michael Ward last year. Thompson also gets his first ever nomination in the “Columnist” category.

----“The Big Cheese” Sal Corrente gets his second nomination with “Columnist”. He place third last year behind Gene Jackson and Trent Van Drisse.

----Trent Van Drisse’s site Mid-Southern Message Board gets their third nomination for “Site”.

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

----Derrick KIng/Johnny Dotson vs "Too Kool 2" [Tim Grind/Flex]from Autozone Park aired on Saturday's show and I believe that was the first time it had ever aired?? I have added it to the possible Memphis Wrestling TV matches.

Monday, December 29, 2008

----This is the final two categories!! You have until Saturday January 3rd to dominate. SUPER SUNDAY - January 4th - the nominees will be posted and you can start voting. Voting will end 10 Days later on 1.14.09. Winners will be announced on SUPER SUNDAY II - January 18, 2009. Yearbook 2008 should be available around the first week of February.

----Please pick three bouts from each category. Memphis Wrestling did not give us a lot of picks, but I have listed all of them. Best Arena bouts are any bout that I attended that scored a [***] or better. I have put BOLD in my picks for top three!!

----There has also not been a lot of people that help nominate in the last categories we listed last week. I feel a lot of people do feel these awards are as important as Wrestler and such, but please send in your nominees for ALL CATEGORIES!! You got until this Saturday!!

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

----Devon Day was put on a ballot for Most Underrated earlier this morning. A very good pick. A real good worker that some of you guys have never seen and he has worked in this area for a long time.

----Gimmick of the Year is very similar to last year when the Posse was on 95% of the ballots. Posse is still getting some nominations this year, but "The Baron" Malkanvain has been on probably 98% of them this year. Is this foreshadowing him winning his first ever RRO Award??

----For those that have not voted for MVP yet, Danny B Goode should also be considered there and maybe in Most Underrated.

----Four of the Top 10 Wrestlers last year have dropped out of the ratings this year and two of them have been in both the 2006 and 2007 Top 10. Top 10 2008 obviously will feature four new entries with one returning from 2006. RRO Top 10 will only be featured in Yearbook 2008!!

----Rookie of the Year is the tightest nomination race this year. One nomination separates four guys. It will probably not be decided upon until the last day.

----Only one wrestler in either the MVP/Wrestler category won the award last year and is leading nominations this year?? Is it DK or Stan Lee??

----The Tag of The Year nominating is being dominated by BLS, but the other 2 positions are being battle out with four different teams and only one was in the Top Five of the Top 10 last year.

----Ok, we got 6 more categories for this week. The only two categories we got left to nominate are TV Match of the Year and Arena Report Match of the Year. I will be waiting to see if they air any new stuff on the final show of Memphis this week. I also plan to attend the DCW show this coming Saturday night, so I might have a match to add to Arena Report. Those matches that are eligible will be posted on Sunday!! Everyone has until 12.30.08 to send in nominees. Nominees will be announced and posted at 12:00 AM on 1.01.09 and you will have 10 days to vote for the winners!! Post your picks on the Kayfabe Message Board or e-mail them to me!! I also have up to the minute awards news right here on this blog!!

----Horizon – Who deserves a contract in the WWE, TNA or ROH?? Last two years this award has been won by Dustin Starr. Even though he has not wrestled as much this year, the stuff he has done outside the business has also proved this guy has a mind to be with the big time. Could he get nominated and win three years in a row?? My picks would also include some of these guys: Brian Thompson [announcer], Cameron Valentine, Byron Willcott [who has a contract, but still eligible here], Eric Wayne, Kid Nikels and the usual of guys like Flash Flanagan, Derrick King and Rodney Mack.

----Most Improved: Who has improved as a worker from last year?? Idol Bane is the leader here in my book as he was almost off the radar last year and is probably going to end up in the Top 10 this year. Cody Melton, Albino Rhino, Pappy and Slim Pickens are my other picks.

----Most Underrated: Who is the most underrated by workers and fans?? A lot of names here including last year’s winner Kilo. AJ Bradley is my top pick along with Chris O’Neal and the following: Cameron Valentine, Mark Justice, Izzy Rotten, Dell Tucker, Psycho, Seth Knight, Christian Jacobs and Rik Burton [for his booking].

----Best Wrestling Web Site: What site do you go to more often?? Everyone is eligible, except www.rronews.com. Dustin Starr’s “World of Wrestling Blog and www.wrestlingnewscenter.com easily lead the pack. Last year’s winner Mid-Southern Message Board should also be considered. I should also mention NBW [who has a real good looking site], WWCW [ditto] and TIWF.

----Columnist of the Year: Sal Corrente is the most constant on this site. Dustin Starr should also be considered for updating his stuff every day. Brian Thompson has good columns. “Axeman” Randall Lewis also gets a mention because he probably is the hardest working guy in wrestling kayfandom.

----Best Female Performer – NEW AWARD – This is the only new category for the year, but I have added it because of the influence of MLW and the level of ladies in this area. My three picks would be in no particular order – Tasha Simone, Su Yung and Lil Bit.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

----RRO AWARDS RACE 2008 continues with 5 more categories!! If you are a member of the KAYFABE MESSSAGE BOARD, then you may click over and put all your nominations there. Or you may e-mail your picks, if you do not want to post them “in the open” on the board. Stay tuned here for all the up to the minute news on the RRO 2008 Awards!!

----Here are the five most important awards. They are always the hardest to pick and they usually have a lot more people voting for them. I have changed the “Best Damn” to MVP this year. The decision to change this is primarily due to the fact that the Yearbook and Awards are being seen by more people this year. I went with “Damn” to seem “edgy”, but as the years have gone by – I feel it might be a better fit as MVP. The meaning of these awards will not change.

----I also want to make note that the first four awards here is what RRO will use to post the Top 10 Singles/Tag Teams in Yearbook 2008. The six nominees get the first 6 places in the Top 10 followed by others that got the most nominees. If you do not nominate in all the awards, could you please take the time to nominate in these categories. Also, please do not nominate YOURSELF. Anyone that does that – your vote does not count!!

----Wrestler –This award has to do with drawing power, influence, visibility and just overall a good wrestler. You don’t have to be the best worker in the area, but it does help. This is probably the hardest category this year, because not one person sticks out above everyone else. Two-Time Winner Derrick King has to be considered maybe as just default, but he has been on a few big cards and is very influential in this area. Kevin White has gone forward to try to keep the tradition of Memphis Wrestling alive. When Corey Maclin shut down Memphis Wrestling and Bill Dundee joined the circus, White continued to try to give fans good quality wrestling. The guy that might seem like a “dark horse” to some people and some people might consider it BS – Austin Lane. Take a moment to think. What one guy was probably seen by more people this year than anyone?? Week after week ASWF had great crowds and Lane was seen on the big stage in front of some good crowds. Those are my three picks – Lane, White and DK.

----MVP Performer – This award is based on pure workrate. The winner last year Stan Lee is also in the running this year. He had a stellar performance at the UWL PPV and just an overall great performer. The guy that probably gets my nod over Lee would be Greg Anthony. Anthony always gives 110% every time he goes out. His matches with Flash Flanagan this year have been bragged about from everyone that watched them. Third place is just a bunch of names that put on good bouts and could fall into one of the top places also – Austin Lane, Chris Rocker, Motley Cruz, Flash, DK, Eric Wayne, Reno Diamond and Alan Steele are some that come to mind.

----Tag Team of The Year – Last year’s winner “The Posse” [Simon Reed/Lil Chris] has continued to work this year in one form or another, but not as much. The #1 team in the Ranking last year – “Too Kool 2” [Tim Grind/Flex] should not even be considered this year. The tag team award [based on drawing power, influence, visibility] is a throw up between two teams this year. “Asylum” [Pappy/Arnez/Psycho] and “Black Label Society” [AJ Bradley/Robbie Douglas/Void]. I would give the nod to “Asylum” for doing so many dates and maybe BLS because they have been in higher profile matches. AJ Bradley is also the best worker of the six, so it might get them the win. Others teams consider – “Parental Advisory” [Scott Porteau/Tony Dabbs], “SOBs” [Kilo/Mark Justice], “Pain Inc” [Izzy Rotten/Brett Michaels],“Sons of the South” [Chris Styles/Josh Matthews], “Missouri Bad Boys” [Mark Southern/Missouri Renegade], Anton LeVeigh/Brandon Barbwire and Lawman Williams/Tank Turner.

----MVP Tag Team of The Year – Who is the pure working team in this area?? This is going to be a hard one this year also with not as many people staying teams, so I will throw out a bunch of names here. “Hot Topic” [Derrick King/Stan Lee], Eric Wayne/Kid Nikels, “Naughty by Nature” [Pokerface/Rude] [2007 winner], “Black Label Society” [Void/AJ Bradley/Robbie Douglas], “Parental Advisory” [Scott Porteau/Tony Dabbs] and “SOBs” [Mark Justice/Kilo]. My top two here would be “Hot Topic” and “Parental Advisory”.

----Rookie of The Year – There is a very good rookie class this year. I have to mention that Kid Nikels and Eric Wayne were both eligible last year. They are not eligible this year. This award goes to someone that worked at least 26 dates in their first year of wrestling. Three guys that stand out here to me are Cody Melton, Robbie Douglas and Greg King Jr. Melton and Douglas both have worked in both 2007 and 2008. It might hurt Douglas because he has not worked as many dates as Melton. Melton is probably the front runner here, but anyone that has seen King in the later part of the year at NEW has been impressed. Matt Justyce and Mike Anthony should also be considered here.